Reviews
“[Straight Ahead is] the soundtrack to a powerful stride, a freedom anthem promoting pride in oneself ”
“[The Trumpet Concerto is] a lyrical and yet brilliant work... the composer has successfully balanced striking melodies with virtuosity... An outstanding work, accessible to contemporary audiences”
“[the] concerto fusion of commercial, jazz and classical influences is fresh and enticing”
“Andrew’s music is idiomatic, imaginative and challenging, and the rhythmic aspect is ingenious and effective”
“... This stuff is really cool! Highlights include Andrew Batterham’s opening piece Organica, which uses an interesting bit of electronic manipulation of the guitar part...”
“I have worked with Andrew on a number of narrative and corporate film projects... His unique talent never fails to move me, he has the ability to cross into all genres with equal effect. He … can respond to a brief while still remaining adaptable”
“Sits comfortably between jazz and classical contemporary”
“Andrew Batterham’s [music] maintains accessibility [and] works hard to convey its cross-fusion statements, employing a muted version of techno and dance music rather than belabouring the audience with mindless repetition... The piece reminded me overwhelmingly of film music, particularly in its climatic stages and specifically of Ennio Morricone”
“Batterham avoids the temptation of cheap tricks, such as the crude mimicry of bush sounds. Instead, he draws on the resources of a sophisticated composition technique”
Photo: Sergio Carolino
“The work is subtle, melodically interesting, using solo instruments (cor anglais and trumpet) with discretion and a clear sense of their potential. What impressed me most was that the brief piece works by understatement, rather than by bludgeoning the listener with over-emphatic colour”
“Batterham’s buoyant ‘How to Win the Rat Race’ rings down the curtain”
“The Caprice is for me the highlight of this disc. The playing from both parties has both moments of extreme technical prowess and also clear direction in the music making”
“I am very grateful to Andrew Batterham for his terrific score. The songs are a part of the narrative, [and] It was fantastic to create these songs with Andrew”
“It is a pleasure to work with Andrew as he combines a highly developed musical imagination with sure technical skills. He understands textual matters and has an unusual ability to match his work to the ability of the performers for whom he is composing”
“Where words could fail through the language barrier in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, ‘Vanguard’ beautifully summed up our Symphonic Band and the band’s first European tour by providing a jubilant and triumphant heralding at the opening of each of our concerts”
“Thank you for the marvellous arrangements you wrote, they worked fantastically well. Your orchestrations were perfectly tailored for our forces - playable and singable but with challenges”